Burlington joins Covanta Energy's waste disposal community

Submitted photo
Above, representatives from the waste management company Covanta Bristol and the municipalities that make up the Bristol Resource Recovery. Burlington just signed a 20-year contract with the company.

Burlington >> The town voted to approve a 20-year contract agreement with Covanta Energy Corporation, at a special town meeting on Thursday night -- a decision that's fully supported by the Board of Selectman.

Calling itself a world leader in sustainable waste management and renewable energy, Covanta will provide waste disposal at the Bristol Resource Recovery Facility, which serves 14 municipalities in the area, including Burlington.

Recycling, bulky waste disposal, e-waste recycling and the management of composting are all services part of the agreement.The new agreement continues a long-term partnership between Covanta and the 14 municipalities that make up the Bristol Resource Recovery Facility Operating Committee, when the the BRRF was developed and constructed in 1988.

The existing agreement will end June 30, 2014 and the new 20 year term will commence on July 1, 2014 with an ending date of June 30, 2034.

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First Selectman Ted Shafer said he favors of the new contract agreement.

"(There are) long term benefits in the area of sustainable waste management to Burlington residents and to the region from this partnership with Covanta and the other municipalities that make up our 14 town BRRFOC consortium," Shafer said.

Some of these benefits, according to Shafer. are financial savings. The solid waste tip fee was negotiated down to a lower price of $60 per ton. The town will now be able to receive money from Covanta for public outreach programming, such as hazardous household waste collections, energy-from-waste and recycling.

"These cost savings with quality services will be achieved through mutual cooperation and administration among the 14 communities. These types of benefits would be challenging to achieve by Burlington standing alone," Shafer said.

The trash placed on curbsides of many residents in the participating towns are transformed into electricity, and this type of waste-to-energy process inevitably prevents resident's trash from piling up in landfills and releasing harmful methane gases, also known as greenhouse gas, according to a statement issued by Covanta.

The BRRF processes about 650 tons of municipal solid waste per day into 16 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity, powering about 10,000 homes. The local facility is one of Covanta's 44 energy-from-waste facilities, providing communities with an environmental sound solution to solid waste disposal needs by transforming it into renewable energy, according to Covanta's website.